Riftborn
by Enveloping Darkness
Summary: After the opening of a dimensional rift, Pokemon have poured into earth and are slowly causing humans to go extinct. The only hope for the cowering race are the few that have returned from the rift with the skills to defeat the beasts. Updates will be made semi-regularly and advice and criticism are welcome.
1. Prologue

_We never stood a chance. There were simply too many of them... Humans were dying, our towns and cities burning. The invaders, creatures from a parallel dimension, began to rampage after passing through the rift. Some could communicate with us and told us of the tyranny of the humans in their dimension, forcing them to kill one another or be slaughtered themselves. The humans had some sort of capsule items that overwrote the natural instincts of the brain, making them subservient, deadly tools. Death was a relief for many, suicide was preferred to being ripped apart by tooth, claw and tentacle. Medicine was scarce, hospitals, and research centers were the first buildings that were destroyed, followed by the military, law enforcement and educational buildings. The only weapons that we were able to use against the beasts were relics of the ancient past, swords and bows, and few could wield them with any effectiveness, losing the weapons without even scratching the beasts who soon rendered them useless. Humans were dying, our intelligence lost. We regressed into the Medieval era, cowering behind massive walls that extended deep underground and nearly blocked out the sky. The best combatants were sent out on surveillance and hunting patrols, and fewer came back each time, eventually there were only a few hundred humans left in each stronghold, with less than one hundred thousand left in the world._

_Hope was extinguished, we all waited for the end, knowing that it was only a matter of time before we were extinct. Then we started hearing news of a group of people that could command the beasts, we thought that these were the "tyrants" from the other dimension, however they were people like us, from our world. They had been children when the rift appeared, and were sucked through it while playing on the beach where the rift had opened, and had lived there for the years since, learning from the people of the other world. Now, in their late teens they have returned to their world, having learnt of the creatures and been trained in weapons. They had run out of ammunition for their firearms within the first week, and now were fighting sword to claw with the beasts._

_We called them the Riftborn._


	2. Return

**_Margate Beach, South Africa, Earth March 12 2024 AD_**

"Home at last, it's been a while, Earth." Said Rhyder, the youngest of the group of five having just turned sixteen the week before they departed. In a loose black shirt and black longs, with short, spiky brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was anything but an imposing figure, standing at a mere 1,69 meters with broad shoulders, scrawny arms and chest but fairly built thighs. Despite that apparent lack of muscle on his body, the lithe, lean muscles hidden underneath were surprisingly powerful. Suddenly he found himself face down with a mouthful of sand and a person on his back wearing their trademark grin.

"Quit the reminiscing Satan, we've got work to do" - this from Luca, the resident joker. No one had figured out why he called Rhyder Satan, and they probably wouldn't unless he decided to tell them. At nineteen he was quite large, standing 2 meters at the shoulder with blue eyes and black hair with the occasional silver stripe from the scars on his head. Surprisingly gentle, belying the scars that covered his body from fighting hand to blade with a Bisharp when they had first encountered Pokemon. He had learned the hard way not to fight Pokemon without weapons, and wore leathers to protect and cover up the damage to his body, though that did nothing to change his attitude.

They were the scouting party, the rest soon to follow when the coast was clear. "Cheer up Satan, it's not that bad is it?" said Luca as they trekked across the sand.

"I've got sand in my mouth, in what universe is that not bad."

"Ours, it's just that you are the only one who wouldn't be laughing."

"Luca, I hope you get eaten by a Tyranitar."

"Come on Satan, it's only a little bit of sand."

Suddenly a roar came from the ruins of the city and the earth started to shake as a massive silhouette detached itself from the buildings and headed towards them.

"Looks like I might get my wish after all." Said Rhyder with a smirk, drawing his gun.

* * *

_**Spear Pillar, Sinnoh, Poke-earth Spring 48 152 PBE**_

Amid the ruins a trio prepared supplies, occasionally glancing at the pink, grey and blue portal before them. "Was it wise to send those two alone?" Asked Sydney, the second youngest, only a month older than Rhyder, yet she acted like a mother to the group. She was fairly short at only 1,52 meters and her black hair with natural blond highlights was the envy of many, and she had the "anti-ideal" bust as Luca would say, meaning that she had virtually no breasts, despite her efforts to make them larger. She wore a low cut purple tank top with a visible padded push up bra (it wouldn't fit her otherwise) and the shortest shorts she could buy (she has an inferiority complex).

"They'll be fine, it's Rhyder and Luca that we are talking about here, when they aren't trying to kill each other they're almost invincible." Said Catherine, the splitting image of the Sinnoh champion Cynthia, who almost gave the aforementioned a heart-attack when they met at the Pokemon League two years after landing up on Poke-earth, and she had dressed up as the champion for fun. She was twenty-two years old with she had a mean streak that she claimed she inherited from her father, a man who she had never known. She usually dressed all in white, wearing elbow length gloves, knee length boots, a sleeveless jacket over a midriff bearing shirt and a skirt over knee length tights.

"From the sounds coming through the rift, I wouldn't be so sure, it sounds like they are fighting something big." Said Alex calmly from the top of a pillar. Alex, henceforth referred to as it or Alex was completely androgynous in appearance and voice, and the five had never discovered what it's sex was, and had mostly given up on trying to find out after ten years. The boys had once planted a micro-camera in it's room, and the aftermath of its discovery had been anything but pretty. It was of an average hight at 1,75 meters and wore it's hair long enough to be considered feminine but short enough to be considered only slightly long for a male. It's grey clothing was loose, and covered by a silver cloak ninety percent of the time.

Catherine cursed, standing up and looking towards the rift. "It's coming closer, those two are either dead, retreating or going to use the rift as some sort of execution device that will only work in their deranged world- typical."

Right on cue there was a rumbling and the trio threw themselves to the ground as massive rocks ripped through the ruins, further damaging the already desecrated relic. "Shit" said Sydney as they raced to the pile of weapons next to the rift.

* * *

"Having fun yet?" Yelled Rhyder as he darted in to empty his clip into one of the holes in the Tyranitar's rocky armor, reaching into his ammo pouch to grab the last clip for his machine gun as a massive foot pounded the ground where he had been mere seconds before.

"Of course, who do you take me for, Sydney?" Luca screamed back as he dodged a fissure that ran through the earth, reaching for his claymore, the only weapon that he had left. The huge sword was a comforting weight in his arms as he charged at the beast's tail. Rhyder ran in, scaling the cracks in the armor to get to the holes in the neck cavity, and firing his last bullets into the tender flesh beneath before holstering his gun. Reaching to his back with both hands, he drew his heavy mace sheathed there, sliding it out and leaping onto the beast's head to start breaking off the armor plating. Luca swung a upward slash at the unprotected underside of its tail, and promptly ducked as it's pained thrashing nearly took off his head.

"Doesn't this thing seem slower than the ones back on Poke-earth, it hasn't even used moves yet either, I hope it isn't using Bide or we are screwed!" Yelled Luca as he retreated in the face of the onslaught of foot and tail.

"True, but who are we to complain, it used to take all five of us to take down one of these things, I was worried we would need to call for backup!" Came the reply, followed by a loud grunt as Rhyder managed to smash though the last of the rock plating. Sheathing the mace Rhyder drew his long sword, and with a cry of "FINISHING BLOW!" He drove it through the Tyranitar's skull.

"You spend too much time playing games kid." Panted Luca as Rhyder rode the dying creature to the ground.

* * *

"Seriously, what's up with the Machoke all of a sudden?" Groaned Catherine as she downed another of the musclebound beasts with a bullet to the chest, only to be confronted by another swinging a fist at her face. "I'm guessing that it has something to do with the rift being entered by humans, or they just want to kill something." Replied Sydney as she retreated even further behind the offensive line to fire an explosive shrapnel rounds. "SR incoming. Get back!" She screamed as she prepared to fire.

In a few seconds large numbers of corpses littered the ground, barely recognizable as Pokemon anymore. "More incoming!" Yelled Alex from it's vantage point, before throwing a grenade into the midst of the horde. "Those boys had better get here soon, we can't hold out like this much longer" muttered Sydney as she started to reload her machine gun. Suddenly she grasped her head in pain, magazine rattling to the ground, and the fighters collapsed to the ground, unable to move under such a strong psychic pressure. "Shit, we've got to move, now, Bronzong and Medicham inbound, grab what you can and go, we aren't equipped to fend off psychic attacks of this magnitude!" Screamed Catherine as she sprinted for the supplies.

After a few minutes of frantic supply transfer, Alex yelled "They are almost close enough to use psycho-kineses, time to leave!"

Sydney and Catherine subsequently grabbed as much as they could carry and leaped through the rift, leaving Alex, who while checking what they were forced to leave behind, spotted a set of belts, each one having multiple pouches attached. "You almost left the union's gift, that would've been a disaster." It said with a grin as it reached out to grab the belts and flick a small switch that rested on the side of one of the remaining sets of explosives.

* * *

_Upon return to the rift, Rhyder and Luca were more than a little surprised to see the rest of the group packing bags outside the portal, with less than half the supplies necessary to set up a base camp, and barely enough to sustain them throughout their campaign. They needed to find a surviving city to resupply at or risk failure before their mission had even started, and little did they know that the trials that lay ahead would be worse than any that they had ever faced before, and death was always one step away. _


	3. Ruins

**_Ruins of Durban, South Africa, Earth March 29 2024 AD_**

Standing on the edge of what was once a bustling city, full of people of many cultures and home to one of Earth's most profitable ports, Sydney started to cry. Luca quietly walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her slight frame and pulling her against him. No words needed to be said,this was the reason that they had come back here, to stop any more of this devastation from happening. Rhyder merely stared, he could barely remember what cities on earth had looked like, and this was not what he had imagined when had pictured how earth was faring against the Pokemon. They were blindly trekking across the coast, hoping to find a source of supplies, but instead coming across ruin after ruin.

"Come on guys." Said Catherine as she walked forward, barely sparing a glance the scarred and blackened patch of earth that stretched off into the distance, having seen too many over the past few weeks of travel to pay attention anymore. Alex fingered the pouch at its waist, wanting to use what was inside, but worried what the others would do to it if the last resort was used. It had been keenly observing the fate of humans in this world, believing them all but wiped out, and wanted to return to its home on Poke-Earth as soon as possible.

"Guys, I think it's time that we decided where we should head next. We all know that we are not going to find any hospitable life along the coast, and traveling along here is just a waste of time now." Said Rhyder with a sigh.

"But how, none of us know where we are right now and even worse we don't know what continent we are on, let alone what cities may have survived." Said Luca heavily.

"That's why we must use them, we will never find our way otherwise!" Snapped Alex.

"For once I agree with Alex, we need to resupply and fast, our rations are only good for a couple more weeks of this." Said Catherine.

"We don't know how they will react, or what they will do. It seems we have no other choice though." Said Rhyder, grinding his teeth.

Sydney started to dig in her pouch, at last finding the object that she was looking for. She held it up, it was a red and white sphere with a small button on the bridge between the hemispheres and a small wing design imprinted on the button.. "Is we are going to use any, let's use mine, they are the weakest of all of ours, and we will be able to handle them easily if they go out of control." She said. The others nodded, and with a deep breath Sydney pressed the button, opening the ball and releasing a glowing gelatinous ooze that slowly expanded and formed into the shape of a large bird. The bird had light brown plumage and a feathered red crest, and it bore a strange saddle on its back. The saddle was set above the wings, with straps that seabed around the lower neck and near the legs, never impeding the wings or the musculature supporting them.

"I know throngs would work differently here to in their world, but come on, the blinding flash of light was awesome, even if it meant that you couldn't look directly at what you released." Deadpanned Luca, while Sydney shivered, having had some of the ooze on her before it had reformed a short distance away. "I think I'm going to stick with throwing." Said Rhyder as he eyed the bird, who merely stared at him before stretching and looking to Sydney as though expecting something.

"How's your head?" Asked Catherine, with a worried expression. All traces of levity disappeared as the group remembered their first time handling Pokemon from a pokeball. The pokeballs overwrote the Pokemon's neural systems, linking them to the human who's data had been input, causing them to have absolute control. There were some types of pokeball which kept the Pokemon's mental structure and lessened the strain on the owner, however those were expensive and not available to the general populace, having public safety cited as the reason.

"It's fine, if anything the strain here is less than it was over there, but I don't think that I am in total control, Serene seems to have free will here." Said Sydney shakily. "She hasn't attacked us though, I wonder... I'm going to release Lancelot, maybe he could shed some light on this." Said Rhyder with a grin, as he dug through his pouch, eventually finding a green sphere with raised panels on the surface. The etching on this one was and eye with a fist in the pupil. Pressing the button, Rhyder threw the ball to the ground a few meters away from him, releasing the same ooze as before. After a few seconds the ooze began to solidify into a humanoid shape. Rhyder drew his long sword and held it at the ready, blade diagonally across his chest.

The glow died down to reveal a creature with what appeared to be a roman centurion's helmet growing out of its head, with a blue blade extending from where the crest would be and white fins extending out of the sides of the pale face underneath it. It had red eyes and its torso and arms were green, while its lower body was covered in white skin. Its feet had three frontal toes, shaped like talons. There were red bone fins extending out of the sternum and upper spine, both of which were razor sharp. Its arms were oddly shaped, having long slits down the outer edge, ending at the elbow. The purpose of this was soon apparent as lengths of bone extended out the elbow, retracting slightly after another section extended out the edge, locking forward over the lower arms and hands.

The creature leaped for Rhyder, having spotted the sword in his hands. Rhyder dodged to the side to avoid the first cut, and raising his sword to block the second arm's swing. After a few minutes of parries, ripostes and near misses, Lancelot backflipped away, feeling Rhyder start to weaken. He bowed and retracted his blades, meeting Rhyder's eyes. Rhyder felt a disembodied voice echo within his skull. "It appears that I can only contact you with eye contact, sir. Is there something you desire?" Said the voice. "Man you look different Lancelot, it's almost scary how much you look like a weapon now. Though your psychic powers seem to have weakened enormously after the transition."

"Does that mean we have traveled to the could that I occasionally saw in your memories? I can't read your mind like I was able to before."

"Yeah we have, would you ask Serene how she feels, and why she hasn't attacked us since she regained free Will, I would've thought the oppression would be enough to make her mad."

"Yes sir!" Said Lancelot with a salute.

"You know Rhyder, it's more than a little creepy for you to have a conversation like that, can't he broadcast his telepathy to us as well?" Said Catherine, while Rhyder replied: "He can only use the telepathy over here while making eye contact, he will probably apologies when he speaks to you later." The conversation died out as growls, screeches, tweets and yells issued from the two Pokemon. After a while they quieted, and Rhyder turned to look at Lancelot. Once again the disembodied voice permeated his head, saying: "She says that despite the mental oppression, she was never treated badly by any if you unlike many of those who she saw while battling and competing in contests. Despite the claims of our consciousness being overwritten, the pokeballs only forced them into a small corner of the psyche, making it impossible for all but the most powerful psychics to break free. Though she does wish that the others had been more proactive in their attempts to obtain the mental sync balls over the standard ones."

"Well I did have to steal most of mine from Sylph, and that was anything but easy. I'll relay the message to the others, do you think that all of our Pokemon will feel the same way?"

"They should, except maybe the strongest of them. Or Gyrados."

"No freaks for now, got it. Okay everyone, we should be able to release anyone, except the more deadly ones in our arsenal. Let's fly. Lancelot, I'll let you take first watch when we stop, see you later."

Lancelot saluted and dissolved into the ooze and started to seep back to the sphere that Rhyder had placed on the ground. Everyone started to dig through their pouches, eventually coming up with the pokeballs that they wanted.

Releasing the Pokemon, everyone took a step back as the airborne beasts began to form. From Rhyder's ball came a hulking figure, it had a long neck and large bulging red eyes that almost appeared to be goggles. The mottled green coloring that ran the length of the sinuous body was tinged with red at the very ends of the appendages, and the saddle was a rusty red. It had two long antenna, and its wings were similar to those of an insect, long, angled and thin. These were a more translucent green inside a red frame. The Flygon bellowed and started whipping its tail around impatiently. Catherine's ball yielded a less violent figure, being a white, triangular bird with red, white and blue crests protruding for the rear of its head. Its multiple smaller wings unfurled as it took off, swooping a few times before hovering behind Catherine. The Togekiss's saddle was small, having very little area on which to attach, and instead buckled around the body. Alex released a huge, purple bat with four blue wings. It circled the group, the wide moth and yellow eyes searching for easy prey. Instead of a saddle, the Crobat had small belts with areas to strap the arms and legs buckled above each wing and across its chest. The remaining form, belonging to Luca was a massive grey dragon. It had a long, arrow headed tail and its angular head was almost entirely composed of a mouth with razor sharp teeth. Its wings easily stretched two meters to each side, with the "hands" being similar to a bats, merely claws on the bridge of each wing bone, its saddle sat on its neck, fastened around the narrowest area on its body. Grabbing his pack Luca climbed onto the Aerodactyle and after a few murmured words, he sat down, ready to take off. After convincing its Crobat to alight, Alex strapped its legs and arms in, leaving its bag on its back. Catherine and Rhyder climbed onto their saddles, and began to give orders to the Pokemon. Sydney, having already mounted her Pidgeot, grabbed hold of the birds neck and with smile took off into the air. The rest soon followed, and forming up into an arrowhead, headed inland.

* * *

A few hours later the group alighted a few hundred kilometers inland, on the edge of a barren, dessert-like area. After turning their Pokemon loose to find food, the group set about preparing the camp. Each sex duo pitching their tents, with Alex pitching its own. A few minutes later they had a small fire going, and started to cook their rations. "I've been thinking..." Said Catherine with a brief pause before continuing. "This dimension seems to have made our Pokemon more rational, look at Lancelot, before his body magically extended to form the blades, but now a bone slides out of his arm. The fliers also have much bigger wings, and Jubilee (her Togekiss) now has hundreds of small wings where once he glided on seemingly nothing. Gravity also seems to be stronger, as we cannot fly for anywhere near as long as before, nor can we jump as high."

"Well that would certainly explain those ice attacks down at the coast." Said Rhyder with a shiver. "I think that was meant to be an ice beam, but instead those Staryu and Strarmie spat streams of liquid nitrogen at us." Said Sydney with a frown, remembering the odd sight.

"Maybe instead of attacks being drawn from the energy around them, the Pokemon use chemistry. Fire attacks would come from a hydrogen bladder within the body, and be ignited by sparks of some kind. Maybe the clicking of flint veins in the teeth." Elaborated Alex. Suddenly Luca burst out laughing, and gasped: " I just pictured a Charizard clicking its teeth together, trying to spew out a flame, that would be something I would pay to see."

After a few moments of picturing the image, the whole group started laughing uncontrollably. Rhyder decided to imitate the processes, gnashing his teeth a few times before hissing while mimicking the posture of a Charizard exhaling a flamethrower. This sent the group into another fit of laughter, and after another few minutes of fooling around, they checked on their food. After an hour or two the beasts returned, having sated the appetite that the long, laborious flight, and everyone headed off to check on the various Pokemon, before returning them to their balls for the night. Rhyder looked to the horizon, seeing the last rays of diffracted light slowly disappear behind the curvature of the earth. Calling out to the group, he said: "I think we should get an early night, I'll have Lancelot keep watch for the first few hours until it's my turn." He then reached into his pocket, grabbing the device that he had left resting there. After releasing Lancelot, he sat down and waited for the ooze to finish solidifying. When he had formed, Lancelot maneuvered around Rhyder to look him in the eye. "Good evening sir, do you have a job for me?"

"Come now, don't tell me that you have already forgotten my promise from earlier, you weren't in the pokeball for that long."

"It is time to take watch then I assume?"

"Yeah, and Lancelot, could you try using a Night Slash on one of these rocks?"

"Yes sir!" said Lancelot with a salute. He extended his blades and started to muster up the energy for the attack. After a few minutes of preparation, he turned and said: "It appears that I am unable to use the move, did you suspect that of happening?"

"Yeah, this dimension rationalizes all Pokemon, making their abilities spring from organs instead of pure energy. I couldn't think of an organ that would be able to store darkness, so I decided to have you test the move out. It appears that type superiority won't matter here, it all comes down to brute force, stamina and strategy."

"Understood sir, I will test my moves while I wait for your turn at the watch, unless I am to wake another?"

"Good idea, we are going to need every advantage we can get in the months to come, and no, you can wake me, the girls might have a heart attack to find you standing over them at night, and Luca is probably more fatigued than he lets on. Goodnight Lancelot, and remember, if anything goes wrong wake us immediately."

"Goodnight sir, and don't I always?" Said Lancelot as he moved away to start a patrol around the camp. Rhyder returned to the fire circle to make sure that all the embers were out, before heading across to his tent. Luca was already snoring rather loudly in his sleeping bag, and glancing over, Rhyder saw that the ever present trail of drool was slowly seeping down towards the makeshift pillow. Staying in his clothes, Rhyder slipped into his sleeping bag, crossed his arms across his chest and lay down to sleep for as long as possible.

* * *

Hearing loud crashes and, upon opening her eyes, seeing a large streak of light through the canvass of the tent, Sydney sat bolt upright in her sleeping bag, slowly realizing what was going on around her. After a few moments of bewilderment, she reacted, grabbing her gun and daggers from their holders on the side of the tent, and sprinting outside as quickly as she could. She saw Lancelot, illuminated by his own attacks, throwing punches and slashing constantly at a fairly large figure just beyond the camp borders. To her surprise, she was the only one out of the tents, and a part of her mind worried about the others, before she charged forward, trying to get a clear shot at the form through Lancelot's whirling figure. After a few desperate attempts to get around him, and his noticing of her, she was finally able to see the figure that he was attacking, that being a considerably damaged tree. Turning to face him, hands on her hips and an angry pout on her face, she was confronted by and almost feral countenance, seemingly struggling to hold back a terrifying rage. Slowly starting to creep away, she suddenly felt a slight pain in her head, shortly followed by a voice. "Do not worry ma'am, I will not harm you. Sir Rhyder had agreed with my suggestion that I test what moves could still be used in part within this dimension. It appears that only the most basic elemental and physical moves are able to be performed with incredible focus, though they are extremely limited in power. I apologies if I had woken you up, I had fallen to bloodlust for a few minutes there."

"Its okay Lancelot, but why did no one else come out to check what was going on?"

"They have all already come to investigate, and you were the last one left."

"Well then, goodnight Lancelot, I'll see you soon." Said Sydney as she turned and started back to her tent. She never noticed the barely checked lunge that came her way, nor the murderous intent that briefly filled the eyes behind her, before they too turned away. A few seconds later the cacophony began again, and soon after an uneasy slumber fell over Sydney as she remembered the expression on Lancelot's face. It was the type of thing you expected to see on the face of a murderer, and a face she hoped never to see again.

* * *

Feeling the ground rumble, Luca sat up, instantly alert. Grabbing his weapons, he dashed out into the night, and saw a massive, sinuous figure that struck a chord of fear within him. Yelling to wake the others, he started to dig in the pouch at his waist, trying to find something that could be effective against what he thought he faced. As it neared, it was assailed by a flurry of fists and blades, with the occasional spark coming from the metallic scales on the serpent's body. Luca's heart fell as his fears were confirmed, their opponent was a Steelix. The huge snakes body was covered in extremely hard scales. The majority of the scales had a metallic sheen to them, indicating that this Steelix had not been short of metallic elements to consume in recent months. Every so often, a set of spikes protruded from the horizontal segments of the body, these being bone that had been further reenforced by the metallic reagents caused by the chemical reactions caused by the Steelix's genetic abilities. Its tail ended in a wicked spearhead made of the same materials as the spikes., and its head was disproportionally large when compared to the rest of the body. None of their weapons would pierce the scaling unless it had been weakened by multiple blows or extreme heat, and that would take time to inflict. "Lancelot, keep it busy, its time to test if our fire types can still breathe fire." He said, finally finding the ball he was looking for, just as Rhyder and Catherine distracted the serpent. Activating the ball, he prayed that a flamethrower would still work. Sydney was digging around in the supplies, looking for the anti-armor rifle that they had managed to bring with them through the rift. Alex was nowhere to be found, and Luca didn't dare to hope for its safety, a Steelix was too formidable an opponent to take on alone.

The ooze had finally finished solidifying, and in its place stood a lithe shape, with a blazing red mane and distinct feline features. "Leo, focus a flamethrower on one place on the Steelix's back." Yelled Luca to the Pyroar as he dashed in, drawing his claymore as he ran. A blast of flame arced ahead of him, washing over the the center of the Steelix's body, and causing Rhyder and Catherine to leap back in shock, the Steelix to roar in pain and Lancelot to hiss as he backed away from the flames. Leo ran forward in a lull in the flamethrower for breath, and leapt onto the snake's neck, before continuing the torrent of flames at the faintly glowing area on its back. The lion's claws dug into the small gaps between scales as it barely hung on through the snake's pained thrashing. Rhyder, who had keeping it from using its tail as much as possible, let out a pained cry as he flew through the air, landing a few meters in front of the snakes head. Before he could recover, the snake lunged forward, snatching him up in its mouth and rearing back, throwing Leo off and swallowing Rhyder whole. Sydney, having just whirled around as this happened, dropped the rifle in shock, and shakily whispered Rhyder's name over and over. Catherine's eyes widened, and a gasp escaped her, before she rallied and started to furiously stab at the now partially melted patch of scales, steadily breaking through and piercing towards the spine.. Luca, anger evident in his voice, yelled: "We can grieve once he has been avenged, let's kill this thing!".

Lancelot, unnoticed by the group, had leapt onto the beasts head, and started to stab at the recesses that contained its eyes, a berserkers rage having come upon him. Leo slowly stood up, and limping forward and trying to breathe another blast of flame, however the hydrogen sacks in his body were exhausted, and he could only manage a few wisps. Seeing this, Luca grabbed the ball from his pocket and returned Leo, before turning his attention back to the snake. Unnoticed by anyone, the Steelix had begun to convulse, and blood was seeping from its mouth. A loud crack echoed as Sydney fired the piercing bullet, and the snake jerked, the bullet having hit and broken its jaw before breaking out near its neck. Now in its death throes, the serpent started thrashing wildly, forcing everyone to retreat or be sent flying, and its tail was gouging troughs through the dry earth. After almost an hour of this, its movement ceased and it's reared head crashed to the ground. Slowly the group approached, worried that the Steelix would start attacking again at any moment, and was merely playing dead.

After confirming that it was indeed dead, Catherine slumped to the ground, grief evident in her expression and posture, and Sydney broke down, wailing for the dead body to give Rhyder back. Luca punched the ground, his expression unreadable as he stared into the dead eyes. Lancelot was tearing up the nearby area, cutting down trees and shattering rocks, a visor having appeared from the "helmet" on his head. A vile smell arose in the area as the snakes bowels released and the muscles caved in on themselves. Roughly twelve meters down its body, the form of a body was now visible, with another one being stuck just below its jaw. Luca stood up slowly, and turned towards the camp. "Let's pack up camp, then we can cut Rhyder's body out and give him a proper send off. Catherine rose, tears pouring out her eyes, and Sydney continued her wailing, appearing not to have heard.

Lancelot was angry. Rhyder had made a promise to him back when he still was a young Ralts. And now he hadn't fulfilled it. There was no way that he could complete that promise when he was dead! Another tree fell to his vicious onslaught, and he turned his focus to a rock. At least he would get something back from the rock, trees around here were too easy to cut down, and the rocks were the only thing that put up enough resistance for him to take out his anger sufficiently.

* * *

**_Mt. Silver , Johto, Poke-earth Spring 30 152 PBE_**

Amidst the freezing hail, snow and wind, a young man stood, staring over the world where he once lived. His red sleeveless jacket flailing in the wind, having lost the weight of the backpack that had once held it down many weeks before. His jeans and black shirt were ragged from many years of abuse, and the faded cap that miraculously stayed on his head seemed ready to disintegrate. Noticing a presence behind him, he turned, expecting to face yet another opponent seeking to beat the "unbeatable" trainer that resided atop Mt. Silver's pinnacle. Instead of the usual battered trainer, his crimson eyes widened, the slight glow that issued from them briefly visible.

The man who stood before him was one who he had expected to never see again, a man who sought irregularities that might endanger the planet, while simultaneously creating a web of lies to conceal his true identity. At their last encounter, Red had turned down the man's offer without a second thought, and he now wondered if the man wanted to try persuade him again. Red reached for his belt, grabbing one of the modified spheres resting there, and beginning to toss it up and down lightly in one hand. The man raised his hands in a gesture of peace, and stared intently at the hidden legend. "I have a new offer. It has noting to do with the one from before, you showed me your resolve against that clearly enough. This involves those children that you ran into when you were still active." The man paused, awaiting a response, and Red raised an eyebrow, indicating interest. The man let out a sigh of relief before continuing. "They appear to be making preparations to go on an expedition. But this is no ordinary expedition, it appears to be aimed at an uncharted area, a place never before seen by the likes of us. They have been purchasing military spec weapons and equipment, while maintaining a veil of secrecy about their actions. I do not know what authorization they have to purchase this stuff, since regular trainers may only carry a gun and a bladed weapon, both of which requiring an extensive background check before the sale is made. They may be part of the RSU, or maybe even the UTU, both of which only act in times of extreme danger. You came up here to find something to match your power, did you not? Perhaps these children have discovered a greater challenge than the rest of this world can offer... What do you say, will you accept?"

Red put the pokeball back on his waist and turned back to stare into the distance once more. The man sighed and turned to leave, however, a small motion caught his eye. He smiled while walking back to the cave to leave. "I'll see you in Eterna then. We'll meet two weeks from now."

**_New Bark Town , Johto, Poke-earth Spring 31 152 PBE_**

Red departed the house, having retrieved what he came for. He turned to Kanto, feeling the eyes of the small town's residents on him. He gave a bitter smile, knowing that if he took of the black cloak that he used to hide his identity, he would be swarmed by trainers and fans alike. Reaching to his waist, he withdrew a pokeball. Pressing the button, a blinding flash of light appeared, materializing into a massive dragon. The coquelicot beast roared, and before anyone could comment on it, Red climbed onto its back, pointing at Vermillion city on the map displayed on the nearby signpost. With another roar, and a beat of its massive wings, the Charizard took off, its tail flame creating a heat haze behind it. Red looked at the watch that had been given to him by a previous challenger. It appeared that the device might come in useful now...

**_Cerulean Cave , Kanto, Poke-earth Spring 31 152 PBE_**

Ethan glanced down at the unexpected noise that echoed around the cave from the small pouch at his waist. Flipping it open, he saw the text message icon flashing, and an unrecognized number was displayed. Bringing up the message, his expression changed. The message field was blank, however it was the attachment that got his attention.

**Eterna City **  
**13 days from now**

Was displayed, with a crimson eye in the background. Not knowing why he had been contacted, he instantly turned, grabbing a pokeball. He yelled: "Teleport!" as the light flashed.

**_Lilycove City , Hoenn, Poke-earth Spring 33 152 PBE_**

Smiling, May strutted out of the contest hall. She had just won another contest, but she was starting to get bored of them. After completing the league she had turned her attention to contests, hoping for a challenge, but she was now considering starting over in a new region, having triumphed over most of Hoenn's challenges. As she rounded the corner, she caught a glimpse of red eyes. Remembering that she had seen those somewhere before, she raced after their owner. Sprinting around the corner where she last saw the person, she stopped in shock. She was at a dead end, with no sign of the mysterious character. Feeling something brush be her cheek, she let out a small scream. Jutting out of the wall was an bolt, and there was a scrap of paper wrapped around the shaft. Taking the paper, she looked at the message on it.

**Eterna City**

**11 days from now**

Feeling her excitement rising, she headed for the port.

**_Unknown, Poke-earth Spring 36 152 PBE_**

Hearing his X-transceiver's chime, Hilbert looked down at the watch. Opening the message, his hopes lifted slightly. The background image was of a crimson eye, while overlaid on that were the words:

**Eterna City**

**8 days from now**

**Someone that may know the whereabouts **

**of who you are looking for may be there. **

Turning, he faced his white companion. "Reshiram, we're heading out. There may be a clue about N." Orange light shone, and a roar issued from the great dragon.

**_Nimbasa City , Unova, Poke-earth Spring 36 152 PBE_**

"Man, Join Avenue is getting packed now" sighed Rosa as she walked into her hotel room to change. Hearing a beep, she headed to her bedside table and picked up her X-transceiver. There was a message on it, and one from a number that she hadn't encountered before. There was a red eye, with the words:

**Eterna City**

**8 days from now**

Feeling a stir of recognition, she grinned. "I guess Dragonspiral tower and Join Avenue will have to wait." She said gleefully, finally having an excuse to get away from all the responsibility.

**_Tower of Mastery, Kalos, Poke-earth Spring 40 152 PBE_**

Serena stared out over the ocean, a sad expression on her face. She was worried about the Team Flare remnants, they had been acting suspiciously recently. She fingered the mega-stone that was embedded in her bracelet. It had been a long time since she had been able to use it, and she thought that it may never be used again. The mega-evolution ability would only respond in times of great need, and even then it would only last for a few minutes at a time. She wanted to feel exited again, and the dull, boring life that had awaited her after she beat the League seemed to drain on her spirit.

Feeling a strong wind come up, she grabbed onto her skirt, a welcome habit that was leftover from her childhood, and rarely used due to her wearing more practical pants and shorts while traveling. From behind her came a roar, and she felt talons wrap around her waist. About to scream, she saw a hand being offered to her from above. Grabbing it, she was suddenly pulled up onto the neck of what appeared to be a Charizard. Feeling her belt suddenly slide off, she grabbed her skirt to keep it from sliding down, and glared at the man behind her. Reaching for her bag, she found nothing there, and then noticed it tied to a luggage belt that was attached to the dragon. The man raised his cap, and she gasped. She had seen his face and eyes before, both in the hall of fame and in one of the strange dreams that she occasionally had. "I won't harm you. I took your Pokemon as a precaution. And I don't speak much, the explanation is on this." Came a hoarse voice, confirming her suspicion. Taking the small tablet that he held out to her, she quickly scanned the contents. Still feeling guarded, she handed the device back to him. "You're Red, aren't you. The man who traveled trough the entire league system, and came out on top. Everyone thought that you had died when you disappeared from public view. Something important must be happening for you to be traveling again." To this he merely nodded, and handed her a plain belt. "I guess you don't want me to lose my dignity then, but I won't attack you. You've got my attention, I want to find out what could bring you back into the world. Though a kidnapping is going a bit far." She said with a small laugh. To this, Red merely shrugged.

**_Resort Area, Sinnoh, Poke-earth Spring 43 152 PBE_**

Lucas reclined on his chair, a small grin on his face. The villa that he had been given upon his arrival here was awesome, though purchasing and delivering furniture for it was ridiculously expensive. It was almost impossible for him not to put this place to good use, considering its prime location in one of the toughest areas in Sinnoh. He was contemplating a trip up to the Survival Area to have a rematch with the gym leaders and that pest who considered himself his rival. Suddenly, the massive door swung open, and a panicked looking Cynthia ran in. "Lucas, a man came to the league building, and he trounced both the Elite Four and me in a matter of minutes. Instead of entering the hall of fame, he just took of his hood and gave me this. He had red eyes and gave me this." She gasped, not being used to running since she took over the championship, and she handed him a small envelope with his name written on it. "A few minutes! Not even I could do that, and I have gotten even stronger since I last faced you!" He yelled in surprise before tearing open the envelope. Inside was an image of a red eye.

**Eterna City**

**Tomorrow**

Was typed on the image. Still recovering from the shock of the news, he decided. He would meet this man, and he would beat him.

**_Eterna City, Sinnoh, Poke-earth Spring 44 152 PBE_**

Red stared out over the city from the top floor of his hotel. The large statue had interested him when he first arrived, however, since the engraving plate had been removed, he lost interest quickly. A blond head came into view on his left, and he turned to face her. "Why are we here Red? I have seen all the trainers that are considered to be the most powerful in their respective regions wandering around the city. The only one who could gather us all here is you, and you wouldn't unless you had a very good reason." Asked Serena. She was decked out in a brightly coloured combination of a lime green parka, a pleated red skirt and black boots. Her strange fashion sense, coupled with her talking to a man in a large black cloak were starting to attract looks from the other patrons in the observation deck. The cloaked man turned on his heel, beckoning with his hand as he strode towards the elevator. As the carriage descended, Red started to fiddle with the device on his wrist. Curious, Serena looked over at it, and saw him selecting a small group of what appeared to be contact numbers off it. He sent a simple message. It read:

**Statue at the edge of town**

**Five minutes**

Lucas wandered around the city, wondering where he was supposed to meet the strange man that had sent Cynthia with the letter. He had first headed to the Pokemon Center, however, aside from a few foreigners, he hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. After that he had moved to the Gym and the various famous sites around the city, to no avail. He eventually decided that he would see what the foreigners were like in battle while he waited for the man to contact him. Catching sight of a girl with a fairly strange hairstyle (two buns on either side of her head that trailed down to her waist) and wearing distinctly foreign clothes when faced with Sinnoh weather. Who in their right mind would wear only a thin short sleeved shirt, a small skirt and tights? Confidently walking up to her, he prepared himself for a battle. Due to the unspoken rule of trainers, you can't walk away from a challenge once it is given, so she would have no choice but to comply. Just as he opened his mouth to state a challenge, the watch on the girls wrist let out a chime. "Let's battle, I haven't ever had a match against a foreigner before." He said with a smirk. Briefly looking up from the watch, the girl grinned. "I would love to kick your ass, but I've got an important meeting now, so why don't you come with, we can battle afterwards." She said before turning and running off towards the edge of town. "H-Hey, wait up!" Yelled Lucas as he raced after her. He started to understand why she wore clothes like that despite the frigid Sinnoh weather. She moved too fast to cool down!

The man was relaxing, sitting on the bench directly in front of the Sinnoh legends statue. Hearing footsteps, the man turned, expecting to see Red arriving for the meeting. He was taken aback, the person standing before him was someone he had never expected to see, especially since he couldn't find him, even when his entire information network was put onto the task. "May I sit?" Asked a young man who was clad in a blue jacket, black trousers, red shoes and a red cap. "Of course, for one of Unova's legends, it would be an honor." Came the reply. Hilbert frowned, wondering how the man knew who he was, but decided to say nothing. Sitting down next to the man, an idea came to him. "You are the reason that I was called here, aren't you?" He questioned, feeling confident in his assumption. "Why would you think that?" Came the reply. "You know who I am, and you seem to be waiting for someone to arrive. If I am right, that someone has crimson eyes." The man was taken aback, the thought that he was found out so easily, and by a person in their mid teens no less! "Impressive. It's surprising how easily you found me out. But how did you know I was waiting for Red?" The man asked, putting on his business face. "Simple. I am too, though I didn't know that it was the legendary Red that was the one who called me." Replied Hilbert while he opened the message that he had been sent a little while before, and showed it to the man.

"Is that...Ethan?" May wondered out loud as she caught sight of a familiar figure that was traveling the same way as her. Running to catch up, her suspicions were confirmed, it was indeed the so called "Hero of Johto". "Hey Ethan! Remember me?" She asked while grabbing his shoulder. "Huh? Oh, if it isn't May, long time no see." He said with a smile. "Yeah, the last time that we saw each other was when you came over to Mossdeep to watch the launch of the new rocket."

"Yeah, how are the contests going?"

"I've gotten bored of them now, I was considering coming to Johto to compete in the league and Pokeathlon there next. Why are you in Sinnoh, I thought you were chasing Legends around Kanto."

Ethan grimaced, not wanting to admit his embarrassment. The last time he had battled red, he had lost, badly. And to add insult to injury, Red hadn't even instructed his Pokemon, he just released them and turned to stare off into the wilderness again. "Red called me. He told me to meet him here, so here I am." He said in a strained voice. "You still haven't beaten I'm have you? I knew he was tough, but it's been five years since you started challenging him!"

"Don't rub it in. Though I heard that the champion over here is quite tough. Maybe I should try the league over here next, it wold be good training to beat Red." Mused Ethan. Suddenly, May burst out laughing, attracting stares from the other people on the street. "Still as desperate as ever huh?" She said between guffaws. "Still laugh like a man I see. And are you going to do anything about those breasts of yours? They seem a bit big for such a masculine person."

"Hey that's low!" Shouted May, before giving Ethan an audible slap, and promptly ending up in another fit of laughter upon seeing the shocked expression on his face.

Feeling quite shocked at the crowd before him, the man began wondering why Red hadn't made an appearance yet, since it appeared that he had assembled the group of trainers before him. Suddenly feeling a hand on his shoulder, he spun, coming to face a pair of red eyes in a shadowed face. "Red! You've assembled quite the team here haven't you?" He said, before noticing yet another of the famous personalities, who had danced around him while he was confronting Red. "Even Serena? Kalos is really far away you know, and to get there on top of fetching all the others from their respective regions in such a short time is nothing short of amazing." He continued. Red ignored him and turned to face the crowd of powerful trainers. Flipping back his hood, all the people around the statue had their eyes drawn towards him. Civilians started to back away, his presence meaning that there was likely to be a huge battle ensuing soon. The trainers either ran away or started to fumble for their pokeballs, hoping to challenge the legend to a battle. "I wouldn't suggest even trying to battle him, unless you have beaten the league, without losing a single Pokemon to anyone. Even the champion." Came a voice. Red turned towards it, recognizing the voice of his most frequent challenger. The red print on his cheek caused Red to raise his eyebrow, wondering what he had done to deserve that. Nodding to Ethan, Red surveyed the small crowd that assembled before him, picking out those who he needed. Pointing to each one and becoming them closer, he turned to the man who stood behind him. "Well I guess we should head somewhere more private, you've brought the strongest trainers from around the world here, broadcasting this event to the general populace may not be a good idea." Said the man, before turning and walking along the edge of the city. The rest of the trainers followed him after seeing that Red was heading in the same direction.

Soon they reached a grotesque building, it had been abandoned since the Team Galactic saga. Entering through a small maintenance entrance, and navigating the complex maze of corridors, the group entered a small lecture room. "Everyone please take a seat. This might take a while." After everyone except Red, who was leaning against the wall, sat down, the man began his speech.

"Some of you may recognize me, I've spoken to a few of you regarding my organization, and others may have seen me when they were doing their battles with the champions. My name is John Blade. I am the worlds leading authority regarding irregular phenomena that may be detrimental to this worlds stability. I called Red here, because I believe that a serious threat may be appearing in this world soon. One that could change how this world is structured and ruled." The man pulled a small device out of a pocket in his blazer, activating it to produce a holographic projection. "This chart here represents Pokemon migration patterns in the past 5 years. As you know, the incident with Team Galactic happened then, the almost successful attempt at creating a new world. The mass of power that was gathered at Spear Pillar then may have caused more damage than anyone knew. Evidently something has caused large amounts of Pokemon to travel to Sinnoh during this period, and the number has been exponentially increasing as time goes on. If we analyze the location where these Pokemon have been traveling to, it is evident that they have all been drawn to Mt Cononet. This would only have been a mild problem, however, soon after arriving, large numbers of the migrants have been disappearing, with the majority turning up dead a few days after the initial disappearance. I believe this may be caused by a dimensional rift that has been opened by the collision of the powers of space, time, destruction and distortion.

We do not know how to close this rift, and so I decided to send Red through it to investigate, however he brought the rest of you along and so I must ask you to go with him. The last issue is more worrying, ten years ago a small group of children were found at spear pillar by the Pokemon Ranger Union. These children were trained in advanced combat by the rangers. This was a decision made by the chairman of the Union, Professor Hastings. These children soon surpassed the most elite rangers, seeming to have a natural affinity with weapons and an ability to easily identify weak points on their opponents. Upon reaching the legal training age of ten in Kanto, they departed from the Association, and took up training. Most of you have encountered them at least once in your journeys, and they were most likely the unreasonably strong opponents that absolutely demolished you when you encountered them. Even Red, the most famous trainer of all time, lost to some of them after winning a region's league.

I have reason to believe that these people were not of this world, and that they intend to return to wherever they came from. And before you say that that is impossible, as the rift could've only opened after the Galactic event, the rift is temporally unstable, and as such traveling through it when it first appeared in the other dimension, before it stablished, may have caused them to be sent back in time. I have had my infiltration teams place tracking devices on all the equipment that they have purchased since they came to my attention. I believe that the rift is now stable enough for humans to travel through safely, however, I do not think that the devices will transmit through the rift. This is where you come in. Due to us needing information of what is happening, and what the other dimension is like, those of you that agree to participate will travel through the rift after I have confirmation that the others are gone. I would suggest that you take weapons with you, because I doubt that Pokemon alone will be enough. Are there any questions?"

Before John had closed his mouth, Ethan took the initiative. "Why are you having us follow them, and not agents who would be better at this type of mission?" There were mummers of agreement from the Unova trainers and Lucas, while May and Serena remained silent. Red merely watched their reactions. "That is simple. Our agents would probably never survive the conditions of the other world, and as such I decided to recruit the one man who, in my opinion could. That man brought you here, so you can take out any frustration on hi afterwards. The other reason is that none of my agents have the experience that you have in traveling through a wilderness, or tailing people while remaining unnoticed. Each one of you have had run ins with the various criminal organizations around the world, and come out on top." Answered John.

"I don't think that these people will be as stupid as the grunts from the various teams. There is no denying their complete and utter stupidity when it comes to matters of anything." Said Rosa with a grimace. After a few seconds of thought, May asked her own question. "What benefits would we get out of doing this for you? I can't imagine much coming from a spying job, in another dimension no less. And would we need to buy our own supplies or will you be providing them for us?"

"Why my dear girl, the being its would be boundless. You would be credited with the discovery of a new world, and not to mention receive a massive payout from my organization. To answer your second question, we will be providing all necessary supplies for you, you only need to bring along those powerhouse Pokemon of yours. And if a decision is made to invade the other world and colonize it as our own, you would have first choice of land, perhaps even getting a whole region to yourselves." John said with a strange look in his eyes. This statement silenced the group, as they slowly came to terms with what this might offer them.

"I'll leave you to sleep on it, those who decide to go and those who have further questions can come back here tomorrow." The man said, bringing the meeting to a close. The trainers slowly filed out of the room, each one contemplating wether it was worth going on this perilous mission. Hilbert was the last to leave, and before he exited the door, he turned back to the man. "I have on question to ask you. You have an extensive information network, so tell me. Where is N." He asked. To this John smiled, having guessed that Hilbert would ask that question sooner or later. "He has been frequenting Dragonspiral Tower and Giant Chasm recently, it appears that something that interests him is taking place at those two locations." Hearing this, Hilbert got a determined glint in his eye, before leaving without a word.

May was lost in thought as she walked back to her hotel, unsure of what to do about the offer. She was quite bored with Hoenn now, and the new world wouldn't be short of new and exciting things for her to do. On the other hand was the fact that there was very little danger if she stayed here and traveled around another region, while that would still provide exciting experiences. The new world would probably be perilous, and death or grievous injury would be incredibly likely, and that would provide her with a thrill that she had never before experienced. It would not be an easy decision, and she wondered wether she should try talk to some of the others about it before making up her mind.

Both Rosa and Lucas had completely forgotten about the battle that they had arranged before going, and Lucas was wondering wether he should change his mind about what he had decided to do. It was ultimately his decision, and as such he wanted to be absolutely certain about his choice. Rosa was traveling down a different road, wondering if there was anyone reliable that she could ask about the situation amongst the group that had attended the meeting. She wanted to go, but she also didn't want to completely abandon her responsibilities in Unova, and it seemed like that may be necessary for her to do that if she intended to go. She eventually made up her mind and went seeking someone who may have a better idea of what they should do that she did.

Ethan knew what he was going to do. Red's expression at the end had told him what his arch-rival would do with the situation, and he didn't want to miss out on anything that might put Red one step ahead of him. He walked back to his hotel confidently, preparing himself to confront his mother and Lyra over the phone. Lyra would probably worry endlessly about him, having done so since he started his journey. His mother would probably be fine with it, though he would end up returning to a mountain of "beneficial" items that she had bought for him using the money that he saved with her. He also needed to prepare himself and his team for the rigors of what lay ahead.

Red remained silent as always as he strode off to the city gardens. He had known what he was going to do since he was first approached by the alleged "John Blade", and his decision now was not about to change. Hearing a cry, he turned, and was promptly slammed into by Serena, who had been trying to catch up to him with her roller skates. Catching her before she hit the ground, he grinned slightly. This girl was entertaining, despite not being the most intelligent of comrades at times, she had kept him amused throughout their time together. "Red, I'm going to follow you. I always wanted to get to know the living legend, and this may be my chance. I'm terrified of what might happen on the other side, but I'm sure that you are strong enough to protect all of us who go. I'm putting myself in your hands Red. Though it appears that I already am." She said while earnestly looking into his eyes, before righting herself and sliding the wheels of her shoes. Red's smile faded. There was a reason that he had gathered all the trainers of each region, beyond the fact that they were powerful, and he hypothesized that only those who would go on this mission were the people that he searched for.

* * *

**_Ayers Rock, Australia, Earth August 3 2024 AD_**

Red stared at the massive rock before him, astounded that something that large could actually be a single structure. He had been the first to travel through the rift, and he was waiting for the others to head through. Hearing a thump behind him, he turned, and gave a small smile when he saw Serena flat on her back after traveling through the rift. He had ended up upside down when he came through. It appeared that the rift wouldn't transfer people as they had entered it. Serena quickly got up and moved out of the way, and if was for good reason as both May and Ethan rocketed out of the rift, Ethan landing face first and May managing to catch herself with her hands before she toppled over. Last to come through the rift was Rosa, and for some reason she came through while pirouetting through the air. Upon seeing the expressions that greeted her, she pouted and said: "Hey, just because I'm better at making a flashy entrance doesn't mean that you can look at me like that." This statement broke all the tension that they had upon entering the new world, and they descended into fits of laughter.

Red pulled out the small solar powered tracker that he had been given, and was shocked at what came up on the screen. Serena peered over his shoulder to try get a look at where they needed to go, and she couldn't believe that anyone could travel that far in such a short period of time. The tracking device stated that the other group was a few hundred thousand kilometers to the west of their current location.

* * *

"I've found a pulse!"

* * *

"Huh, I was hoping that it would do more than that."

* * *

_The danger that was ever present in our world was not something that anyone could've predicted. The monstrosities that the so called Pokemon became when crossing over to our world were a lot stronger than they had ever been in the other world, however the effects that rationalized them placed serious restrictions on them as well. As with the Tyranitar that was faced when they had first entered the world, a Pokemon's bulk severely dropped its speed due to the stronger gravitational forces that our world exerted. When we were faced with the attack, we were caught completely unaware, and due to the speed at which our cities, military bases and farms were destroyed, we never had time to counter attack. The beasts appeared all over the world in a matter of hours, making it evident that the rift that brought them here was not spatially stable._

_The Riftborn had no way of knowing about it, and that became a huge danger to them. Soon after our discovering of them, a new group traveled through the rift. These people were not here to save us as the Riftborn were, but rather to discover what the world that the Riftborn came from was like. They had never expected the world to appear as it did, and were shocked at the sheer scale of the destruction. The Riftborn had the advantage of having the other group appear on a different continent, and as such they were free from prying eyes for a brief while._

_The Riftborn were losing confidence, with two of their group down, they worried as to wether their quest would be completed, and if it was, what would the final cost be? The trainers were not prepared to face the world that they came to, and they were mercilessly driven back by the factors that had made this world much more dangerous than theirs. However, they were not taken down that easily, and once they had come to terms with what Earth was like, they started to overcome the challenges that they initially faced._


End file.
